The occupants of both the houses were evacuated and the road closed because of the danger posed by falling masonry.

Two cars had been damaged, one by falling slates and the other by the telegraph pole.

Firefighters worked to make the area safe; they stayed at the scene for two hours before returning to station.

A spokesman for the Met Office said that the incident did not seem to have been caused by any kind of freak weather condition but rather by strong winds which were gusting at around 54 MPH between 3am and 4am.